British living standards declined at the fastest pace in almost eight years in December, as average wages rose less than the rise in consumer prices, despite unemployment holding at 4.1 per cent and vacancies hitting a fresh record high.
While the average wage excluding bonuses rose 3.6 per cent on the year in the three-month period ending in December, this was well below the 5.4 per cent inflation rate recorded in the final month of last year, according to the Office for National Statistics.
This means that wages were down 1.2 per cent after being adjusted for inflation, the biggest decline since 2014, as households face the biggest decline in their disposable income for at least 30 years, according to the Bank of England, amid rising energy bills, taxation and interest rates.
“The squeeze on firms’ finances from high inflation, soaring energy bills and the looming national insurance hike is likely to weaken job creation and further restrain pay growth in the coming months,” said Suren Thiru, head of economics at the British Chambers of Commerce.
“With high economic inactivity indicating that many people have left the jobs market altogether, chronic staff shortages are likely to weigh on the UK economy for a sustained period.”
Despite the cost-of-living squeeze, the labour market remained buoyant with employers adding jobs for a 14th month in a row in January, leading to another rise in pay-rolled employees to a record 29.5 million.
“The number of employees on payrolls rose again in January 2022 and is now well above pre-pandemic levels,” said Sam Beckett, head of economic statistics at the ONS.
While the UK employment rate increased by 0.1 percentage point on the quarter to 75.5 per cent, the number of people deemed economically inactive also increased slightly.
“The number of people in employment overall is well below where it was before Covid-19 hit,” said Mr Beckett.
“This is because there are now far fewer self-employed people.”
Meanwhile, the number of unfilled vacancies hit another record high of 1.298 million in the three months through January, while job-to-job moves also reached a record high, driven by an increase in resignations and companies desperately trying to fill positions.
Staff shortages are only made worse by the pickup in economic inactivity, which in turn is driving up salaries, with workers not seeing the benefit as they are being swallowed up by rapidly increasing prices. Inflation is expected to peak at 7.25 per cent in April.
“The good news is that the UK economy is continuing to create jobs. The bad news is that businesses are struggling to hire and pay is failing to keep up with inflation,” said Matthew Percival, CBI Director for People and Skills,
The cost-of-living crisis is already affecting Britons who are grappling with higher energy bills caused by surging wholesale gas prices and rising mortgage rates after the Bank of England increased interest rates to 0.5 per cent earlier this month.
Analysts expect the BoE to increase its benchmark rate further over the course of the year to 2 per cent by the end of 2022.
This will hit households hard, with the situation already set to worsen from April when the energy price cap — the maximum suppliers are allowed to charge in a year — goes up by £693, at the same time as a National Insurance increase of 1.25 per cent begins.
“Job vacancies hit yet another record high, indicating that the widespread labour shortages we have been seeing show no signs of easing any time soon. Firms will need to think carefully about how to get staff to stick around,” said Derrick Dunne, chief executive of YOU Asset Management.
“Set a need to offer higher pay and benefits alongside rising inflation and higher running costs, and many businesses could find themselves in a sticky spot this year. This would clearly not be good for the economy.”
While the labour markets seem to have shrugged off the end of the furlough scheme, the government will still need to offer support to struggling households going forward.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said the government’s £400 billion ($541bn) economic plan has protected the jobs market through the pandemic and is now healthier than most could have hoped for.
“Pay-rolled employee numbers are at a record high and redundancies are at an all-time low thanks to our plan for jobs,” Mr Sunak said.
“We're continuing to help more people into work and are providing support for the cost of living worth over £20 billion across this financial year and next.”
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test Thursday-Monday at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
Drivers’ championship standings after Singapore:
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - 263
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - 235
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - 212
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull - 162
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari - 138
6. Sergio Perez, Force India - 68
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Palestine and Israel - live updates
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
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Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
Five personal finance podcasts from The National
To help you get started, tune into these Pocketful of Dirham episodes
·
Balance is essential to happiness, health and wealth
·
What is a portfolio stress test?
·
What are NFTs and why are auction houses interested?
·
How gamers are getting rich by earning cryptocurrencies
·
Should you buy or rent a home in the UAE?
Poacher
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'Avengers: Infinity War'
Dir: The Russo Brothers
Starring: Chris Evans, Chris Pratt, Tom Holland, Robert Downey Junior, Scarlett Johansson, Elizabeth Olsen
Four stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam
About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
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School counsellors on mental well-being
Schools counsellors in Abu Dhabi have put a number of provisions in place to help support pupils returning to the classroom next week.
Many children will resume in-person lessons for the first time in 10 months and parents previously raised concerns about the long-term effects of distance learning.
Schools leaders and counsellors said extra support will be offered to anyone that needs it. Additionally, heads of years will be on hand to offer advice or coping mechanisms to ease any concerns.
“Anxiety this time round has really spiralled, more so than from the first lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Priya Mitchell, counsellor at The British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi.
“Some have got used to being at home don’t want to go back, while others are desperate to get back.
“We have seen an increase in depressive symptoms, especially with older pupils, and self-harm is starting younger.
“It is worrying and has taught us how important it is that we prioritise mental well-being.”
Ms Mitchell said she was liaising more with heads of year so they can support and offer advice to pupils if the demand is there.
The school will also carry out mental well-being checks so they can pick up on any behavioural patterns and put interventions in place to help pupils.
At Raha International School, the well-being team has provided parents with assessment surveys to see how they can support students at home to transition back to school.
“They have created a Well-being Resource Bank that parents have access to on information on various domains of mental health for students and families,” a team member said.
“Our pastoral team have been working with students to help ease the transition and reduce anxiety that [pupils] may experience after some have been nearly a year off campus.
"Special secondary tutorial classes have also focused on preparing students for their return; going over new guidelines, expectations and daily schedules.”
The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: nine-speed
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh848,000
On sale: now
